Osteria Mozza

Scoring a reservation at Osteria Mozza is still something to brag about. Diners call the four-year-old Los Angeles restaurant one month out to nab a table. But like so many things in Hollywood, there is an insider way: Just show up. You might be able to grab one of the13 stools at the marble-topped Mozzarella Bar, which are saved for walk-ins. They're also the best seats in the house.

The bar, which juts out into the bustling dining room, is the domain of Nancy Silverton,who owns the restaurant with Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich. Five days a week you'll spother there constructing beautiful salads, Italian antipasti, and the main event: a long list of small plates featuring mozzarella, as well as ricotta and cream-filled burrata—a family of fresh cheeses known as latticini. "The cheese," she says, "is the star of the bar."

Silverton calls her work at the bar "assembling," not cooking. Using components prepared earlier in the day, like peperonata and garlic confit, she builds dishes of contrasting flavors and textures.

Like Silverton, you can prep ingredients in advance and set up a mozzarella bar at home. It's dining as theater, and your guests get front-row seats.

No reservations required.

How To Choose Your Cheese

When cheese is the star of the plate, it better be high-quality. Here are Nancy Silverton's tips for buying the best.

Check for freshness:Look for shops that make their own cheese, or that sell a lot of it, ensuring fast turnover. At the supermarket, buy it well ahead of its expiration date.

Read the ingredients:Minimalism matters when it comes to fresh cheese. It should be made of milk, salt, rennetor some kind of acid, and little or nothing else.

Refine your search:Mozzarella Imported fresh mozzarella di bufala is great, but fresh domestic cow's-milk mozzarella is a fine substitute. Balls that are sold in water are best.Ricotta Good sheep's-milk ricotta is creamier and more delicate than supermarket varieties.Burrata Silverton prefers the small balls made by domestic producers. At the bar, she uses DiStefano.